1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to video signal reproducing apparatuses and, more particularly, to a video signal reproducing apparatus suited to be connected with a printer for printing the video signal of a specified picture.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a case where a picture corresponding to the video signal reproduced by the video tape recorder (VTR) is printed by a printer, it has been typical that a desired picture is selected out of the pictures of the reproduced signals from the VTR and is stored in a memory in the printer, and the video data is read from the memory at a predetermined speed, so that the picture is printed out.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a conventional system of this kind comprising a VTR 81, a monitor 82 and a video printer 83. A desired picture out of a great number of pictures recorded on the tape is printed in the way described below.
To begin with, the VTR 81 is set to the reproduction mode, and the monitor 82 and the printer 83 are supplied with the reproduced video signals from the VTR 81. As the monitor 82 is then sweeping the pictures, the operator actuates a console of the printer 83 at the timing when the desired picture is displayed. Responsive to this actuation, a control portion 85 operates a memory portion 84 so that either one field or one frame (hereinafter simply referred to as "one picture") of video signal is stored in the memory portion 84. The video signal, after having been stored for one picture in the portion 84, is read out at a predetermined speed corresponding to the printing speed of a printing portion 86. By this, printing of the desired picture is realized with the printing portion 86.
Incidentally, in the conventional art, the video signal supplied from the VTR 81 to the printer 83 is generally an analog video signal.
In such a conventional system as has been descried above, even if a plurality of pictures to be printed are on one and the same tape, the operator has to repeat a process of the steps of choosing one picture and then waiting a relatively long time during which the printing goes on and, after that, choosing the next picture, and so on. To print a great number of pictures, therefore, the operator is occupied for a very long time at the console of the system till the end of printing of all.
Another drawback is that if one desires to get the picture that has once been used in printing for the purpose of printing it again, to select the same picture again is impossible. In more detail, since, in the VTR, the video signals are recorded as moving images at 30 frames or 60 fields a second, the tape capable of recording for 120 minutes has about 430 thousand pictures in field per cassette recorded thereon. Hence, it is virtually impossible to pick up the specified picture out of these pictures as searching is repeated again.